https://urgentcomm.com/wp-content/themes/ucm_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Multimedia
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Galleries
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • Commentary
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • All Things IWCE
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Events
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • IWCE
    • Conference
    • Special Events
    • Exhibitor Listings
    • Premier Partners
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Register for IWCE
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
    • Cookies Policy
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • Mission Critical Technologies
    • Microwave/RF
    • T&D World
    • TU-Auto
  • In the field
    • Back
    • In the field
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Internet of Things
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Call Center/Command
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Network Tech
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Operations
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Regulations
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • Organizations
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
Urgent Communications
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Galleries
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • All Things IWCE
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Events
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
    • UC eZines
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • Conference
    • WHY ATTEND
    • Exhibitor Listings
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Registration Opens April 2019-Join Our Mailing List
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
    • Cookies Policy
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • TU-Auto
  • newsletter
  • In the field
    • Back
    • Internet of Things
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Cybersecurity
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
acc.com

Commentary Newsletters


Bring grant-vetting process into the light

Bring grant-vetting process into the light

Applicants to the broadband stimulus funds who saw their proposals fail can’t get anywhere by voicing their complaints, but the OIG can. Hopefully, its inquiry into the Motorola grant is just the beginning of a larger effort that will result in some much-needed light being shed on just how the NTIA came to its funding decisions.
  • Written by Urgent Communications Administrator
  • 5th January 2011

The U.S. Office of Inspector General (OIG) has launched an inquiry into the $50.6 million grant awarded to Motorola — which the vendor was expected to use to help fund the buildout of a 193-site LTE network for public-safety agencies in the San Francisco Bay Area — and that’s a good thing.

Indeed, it would be nice to know what due diligence the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) went through to dole out — in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) — $7.2 billion in broadband stimulus money.

In a letter to NTIA Assistant Secretary Larry Strickling, Inspector General Todd Zinser stated that his staff would “obtain additional facts” regarding the Motorola grant award in response to complaints from Santa Clara County Executive Jeff Smith, who wrote the OIG office about the matter on Nov. 1.

Smith wrote his complaints in the aftermath of an NTIA review that upheld the Motorola grant award, despite concerns raised by Santa Clara County and the city of San Jose that NTIA did not consider all aspects of the grant application.

In his letter to Zinser, Smith stated that an “investigation is warranted and necessary in order to ensure that public funds are administered in a transparent and fair manner at all levels of government.” Smith further asserted that the grant was “secured in a manner that lacked transparency and prudence.” In particular, Smith noted that the decision to team with Motorola in a public/private partnership never was voted upon by legal representatives of the government entities that are involved in the project.

I’ve been questioning the entire grant process for some time. The NTIA and the USDA’s Rural Utilities Services division were inundated with applications — some of them many thousands of pages long — asking for broadband stimulus funds. In the first round alone, about 2,200 bidders applied for almost $28 billion in broadband stimulus money. That was nearly seven times the $4 billion available for the program in the initial round.

There were all sorts of complaints about the application and vetting process, and at least one mistake has come to light. In September, the USDA rescinded a $19-million broadband stimulus grant/loan that was announced on Aug. 18 to a Texas wireless company that had been charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in April with alleged federal securities violations.

The information came to light after an investigative report published by StimulatingBroadband.com questioned the award to Dallas-based TierOne Converged Networks, since the company had been charged by the SEC and two of its officers had been cited by state securities regulators in Colorado and Texas the two previous years.

Applicants to the broadband stimulus funds who saw their proposals fail can’t get anywhere by voicing their complaints, but the OIG can. Hopefully, its inquiry into the Motorola grant is just the beginning of a larger effort that will result in some much-needed light being shed on just how the NTIA came to its funding decisions.

What do you think? Tell us in the comment box below.

Tags: Commentary Newsletters Policy & Law Commentary

Related


  • Redefining communications for today’s mobile workforces
    Communicating with personnel was already a challenge for companies with workers in the field, deskless staff who travel, as well as widespread workforces in siloed divisions and office locations. Now that COVID-19 has all but eradicated traditional in-person relationships and many in-office team members are now working remotely, keeping everyone synced is an even more […]
  • Bridging digital divide by fostering digital inclusion and economic recovery
    If the pandemic has highlighted anything, it is that connectivity is synonymous with a lifeline and an opportunity. The level of connectivity an individual or a household has directly determines the quality of education and health care they receive. This also influences a person’s ability to establish and maintain a livelihood while also obtaining government […]
  • Public safety needs a better way to triage emergency calls
    The overarching goal of the public-safety community is to ensure that 911 callers receive the most appropriate emergency response as quickly as possible. Lives often are on the line in an emergency, and every second matters. Achieving a balance between sending the optimal response to an emergency and having it arrive as fast as possible […]
  • In challenging year, working with public safety to move FirstNet forward
    It has been a challenging year for the nation, especially for the first responders who are on the front lines of wildfires, hurricanes, and the COVID-19 pandemic. During this historic year, the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) remained committed as ever to helping first responders save lives and protect communities. As part of our […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

To leave a comment login with your Urgent Comms account:

Log in with your Urgent Comms account

Or alternatively provide your name, email address below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Proposed three-digit suicide-prevention ‘Lifeline’ would benefit public-safety communications
  • The importance of commercial broadcast radio to public safety
  • How 3D location can increase situational awareness and improve operational efficiency
  • Bill to reclassify 911 telecommunicators is long overdue

Commentary


Ransomware? Let’s call it what it really is: extortionware

21st February 2021

Redefining communications for today’s mobile workforces

18th February 2021

Hi-tech sewer can help safeguard public health, environment and economies

18th February 2021
view all

Events


UC Ezines


IWCE 2019 Wrap Up

13th May 2019
view all

Twitter


UrgentComm

Using data to improve emergency response resources in healthcare arena dlvr.it/RtYfFJ

26th February 2021
UrgentComm

3 security flaws in devices and IoT that need fixing dlvr.it/RtYRxm

26th February 2021
UrgentComm

Newscan: America’s creaky payment infrastructure is showing cracks dlvr.it/RtTzBD

25th February 2021
UrgentComm

California PD: ‘Game-changing’ Live911 streaming of emergency calls accelerates responses dlvr.it/RtPgXS

24th February 2021
UrgentComm

Why Tuscon is building its own 4G network dlvr.it/RtPDG5

24th February 2021
UrgentComm

SolarWinds attackers lurked for ‘several months’ in FireEye’s network dlvr.it/RtP07s

24th February 2021
UrgentComm

Buffalo’s 48 hours to navigate a mission-critical transition to remote work dlvr.it/RtNwfl

24th February 2021
UrgentComm

Digital transformation, connectivity create platform for sustainable mobility dlvr.it/RtNwYm

24th February 2021

Newsletter

Sign up for UrgentComm’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about Communications and Technology.

Expert Commentary

Learn from experts about the latest technology in automation, machine-learning, big data and cybersecurity.

Business Media

Find the latest videos and media from the market leaders.

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital and print audiences? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • American City & County
  • IWCE
  • Light Reading
  • IOT World Today
  • Mission Critical Technologies
  • Microwave/RF
  • T&D World
  • TU-Auto

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Events
  • Careers

FOLLOW Urgent Comms ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2021 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X